Estate of the Week: Some Happy Pigeons

By Robert Frank

This week’s Estate of the Week comes to me from Suzy Colvin of the Colvin Group, Paragon Real Estate in San Francisco. (Thanks to Paragon for the photo.) What makes the home noteworthy — aside from its $9.25 million price tax, 16-acre grounds, 6,000 square feet of space and vast wine cellar — is its name. It’s called La Pigeonniere, which translates literally as “Pigeon House.” Wondering what kind of pigeons had the pleasure of their own movie theater and five-car garage, I called Suzy for some more background.

“House of Pigeons,” she said, is only the literal translation. For the French, La Pigeonnierre means “Love Nest” — a name given to the home by its first owners, who built the place in the 1970s.

“The current owners are French and they liked the idea of the house as their love nest, so they kept the name,” she says. “We never call it Pigeon House.”

Love Nest also describes the home’s origins. The house was modeled after the manses built in Versailles for the mistresses of French royals. La Pigeonniere’s first owner, a wealthy San Franciscan, had the place built from pieces of old homes in France, which were flown in to California. (The link above also includes a three-minute film about the place.)

About The Wealth Report

The Wealth Report is a daily blog focused on the culture and economy of the wealthy. It is written by Robert Frank, a senior writer for the Wall Street Journal and author of the newly released book “THE HIGH-BETA RICH.”